


Crooked Wings

by MtheRenegade



Category: Tales of Symphonia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Betrayal, Past Abuse, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-16
Updated: 2015-04-22
Packaged: 2018-03-23 06:43:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3758311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MtheRenegade/pseuds/MtheRenegade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After years of violence and torment Anna escapes her waking nightmare and runs into an angel she has seen in her dreams. With her past closing in around her, she is forced to rely on this tormented man...a man she is not so sure she can trust.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Alone

Anna stared up at the ceiling, praying to whatever gods may be listening that she would be allowed to sleep. She needed the escape that only her dreams could give. It had been so long. She was so tired, but somehow she knew that tonight wasn't her night. Footsteps echoed in the hall and she sat up, her back pressed up against the cold iron bars of her headboard.

_Please...please keep going. Don't come here. Don't find me._

The door knob rattled against the lock. She stiffened, her hands clenched into fists. Then it stopped. A minute passed. Anna finally let out the breath she had been holding, relaxing as she allowed relief to course through her. CRASH! The door swung open with the sound of splintering wood and in lurched Anna's father. Anna sprang out of bed and settled into a fighting stance as the drunken man zeroed in on her. He swung heavily at her, but she dodged quickly. He growled and swung again. She stepped aside and he stumbled into the dresser.

"Don't you run from me, missy!" He shouted, reaching for her again. She backed away, eyes trained on his raised fist. So preoccupied was she with his attempts to strike her that she completely ignored what was in his hand. He grunted and threw the glass bottle hard at his daughter. It struck her temple with a sickening thud and down she went. He kicked her in the ribs as she lay on the floor.

"That'll teach you to lock your door," he snarled. Her reached down and picked up the bottle, leaving his daughter bruised and battered on the floor.

Anna curled into herself, clutching her ribs and fighting the physical and emotional pain that had haunted her everyday of her life for the past six years. It hadn't been like this before. When Anna was 10, her father had changed jobs quite suddenly and had become withdrawn and angry. Then Anna's mother had died mysteriously and to cope her father had turned to alcohol. They moved around from one crappy place to the next as her father bounced between jobs that were barely legal...and a few that were completely illegal. He used his daughter as a vent for all of his frustration--his own personal punching bag. So it had been for 6 years.

Anna picked herself up off the floor and struggled back into bed without a sound. She never cried out. She never flinched. She fought back. She knew it wouldn't always be like this. She just had to hang on for two more years. Then when she was 18 she'd inherit the trust fund her mother had left her and she'd be free. She collapsed into bed and drifted in and out of consciousness, lingering on the edge of a dream. She liked dreams. Especially since she had the same dream every time.

She dreamed of an angel. Her lingered in her minds eye as she slept, watching over her...protecting her. She couldn't see his face or any features but she could see his eyes. His sad, red-brown eyes that carried the weight of the world. They seemed to weigh her down, keeping her safe. She smiled in her sleep. One day she could sleep freely. One day her dreams would be easy and clear. One day she'd see her angel's face.

_Two more years...two more years._


	2. Birds of a Feather

The red crystal lay on the polished wooden surface of the desk glinting harmlessly in the light cast from the lamps in the room. To the naked eye, it appeared to be nothing more than insignificant gem, inactive, powerless. But Kvar had recently learned something very different.

"A Cruxis Crystal?" he said, addressing the man seated behind the desk. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"It is quite simple," replied the man, his green eyes glinting dangerously as he looked at Kvar. "The crystal releases a toxin into the blood, causing the wearer to slowly lose his mind. As the mid disintegrates, the host dies."

"How could this prove useful to us?" Kvar asked, not quite understanding the point.

"Because once the host dies, their lifeforce, their very spirit, the thing that makes them… human, is absorbed into the Crystal," his boss replied. "It can then be worn safely by another and used to boost strength, agility, all five senses, and even aspects of your appearance."

"So it basically enhances a person's abilities," Kvar summarized.

"Or provides them with abilities when they have none."

"When you say you can modify appearances," Kvar said. "What does that mean?"

The man behind the desk stood and leaned forward. Kvar gulped, fear in his red eyes. His employer stepped around the desk and into the light. His green eyes still sparkled with malice. His sleek, long blonde hair hung loose past his shoulders and seemed seemed almost out of place with white business suit he wore. He radiated power and control. Kvar was a menacing individual, but even he felt over-shadowed by this man.

"What does it mean?" his employer said softly. "I will tell you what it means." Light began to shimmer behind the man, glowing brightly in the faintly lit office. Kvar took a step back and to his immense shock, two enormous wings sprouted from the man's back and stretched out. They were the color of the rainbow and yet they didn't offer any feeling of comfort for all their bright coloring. Kvar gaped at the man, who sneered back.

"It means, Kvar, that you should stop asking questions and start following my orders."

Kvar swallowed hard. "Yes, Lord Yggdrasill."

Mithos Yggdrassill grinned. "We have already started some experiments with the Crystals," he said, putting his wings away and settling back behind his desk. "Now we shall see how they Crystals fare feeding off the average human. That is where you come in."

"Anything you ask, my lord, I will do it," Kvar assured him.

"Pronyma tells me you have a daughter."

"That worthless child,"Kvar said with a snort. "What would you want with her?"

"Pronyma tells me she has a certain amount of…defiance in her. A bit of a fighting spirit." Mithos chose not to mention that he knew the girl had borne the brunt of Kvar's sick and twisted personality for years. He was unconcerned about the plights of a human child.

"She's a smart-mouthed little wench," Kvar agreed.

"Am I correct in assuming that you are…unconcerned with her future?" Mithos asked.

"The sooner she is out of my hair, the better."

"Excellent," Mithos said with another malicious smile. "Then I think we may have found a place to begin."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Anna quietly shut the trunk of her car and paused, listening to the quiet night sounds surrounding her. Every sense was alert as she locked the car and crept up the walkway into her house. She opened the front door and slipped inside carefully, hoping to get back upstairs undetected.

No such luck.

"Where you sneaking off to, little girl?" asked a low female voice from the living room. Anna sighed and walked into the room. Her father's s girlfriend sat there, barely clothed as usual and grinning evilly.

"None of your business Pronyma," Anna said, resting her hand on her hip. She wasn't afraid of Pronyma. At 18, she was tall and well-muscled from her classes in tae kwon do and fencing. Not to mention from the nightly struggles to stop her father's abuse. Pronyma was little more than a unpaid whore, one her father probably kept around because she put out.

"Attitude," Pronyma said warningly. "Daddy dearest won't like hearing that you talked to me in such a way."

"Ask me if I care." Anna replied with a smirk. "Go on ask."

Pronyma rose up off the couch and approached Anna, shaking her green hair out of her face. "You better start caring. One day someone will beat that smart mouth of yours clean off you."

"Funny," Anna said, meeting her eyes. "I was just thinking that one day you might learn that whores are supposed to get paid."

Pronyma's eyes flashed and she raised her hand. The slap echoed in the empty house as Anna's head jerked to the side from the force of the blow. Pronyma scowled but Anan merely turned back to her and grinned, ignoring the stinging in her cheek.

"I seem to have struck a nerve," Anna said lightly. With that she blew Pronyma a very sarcastic kiss and traipsed upstairs, laughing to herself. She could have blocked the slap. In fact she could have blocked it and broken every bone in Pronyma's arm. But she chose not to. She chose to lay low and not reveal all the training she had done in secret.

Reaching the safety of her room, Anna looked around, checking to make sure everything was in order. She never had many possessions thanks to her father's cruelty but she valued what little she had and would take it with her when she escaped.

Tonight, after 12 years living in hell, she was finally going to walk out of her father's house, and his life, and never look back. The bruises she wore under a thick coating of makeup would finally heal. No more awkward hospital visits. No more missing school because of the "flu." No more sleepless nights, listening for footsteps and the growl of her bastard father. She would be free and her father would never find her.

For the past 6 years, she had formed her plan carefully. She had graduated from the small school in Luin and had applied to the university in far off Palmacosta under a different name. Behind her father's back, she legally changed her name to Anna Irving, assuming that Anna was a common enough name to where she could keep it. When her 18th birthday came, a mere month ago, the generous trust fund set up by her mother allowed her to purchase her car and rent a small apartment in Palmacosta. If she was careful, she would be able to make the fund last for about 6 years. With luck she'd have her career and a job by then.

The other thing she had done was enroll in after school tae kwon do and fencing classes. Not only did these give her an excuse to stay away from her house, but they also came in handy for explaining all of her bruises from her father.

Anna sighed contentedly and looked around. Her room looked lived in to the naked eye. Only she would notice the absence of any type of personal décor or decoration. Her father certainly wouldn't, but then he never noticed her unless he was looking for a target. Tonight, she would pretend to go to work, just like always. (Her father thought she worked part-time cleaning the local Martel chapel when she was really in defense classes.) She would leave for "work" and be gone forever. She would leave the dusty streets of Luin behind and never return again.

The sound of the front door opening shook her from her daydream and she tensed automatically, knowing that her father was home. She heard a murmured conversation from downstairs and then—

"Girl!" he shouted. "Get down here."

Anna sighed and got to her feet. She didn't hurry downstairs, she didn't dawdle, she walked as though all was normal, keeping her own small form of defiance. She entered the living room where Pronyma perched on the arm of the sofa, smiling smugly. In the middle of the room her father glared at her.

"Yes?" Anna asked politely, meeting her father's eyes.

"Is what Pronyma told me true?" he snarled.

"I doubt it, but what did she tell you?" Anna asked.

"You struck her?"

"No, she hit me," Anna said, pointing at her still pink cheek.

"I don't believe you," her father said.

"Big surprise."

Her father grabbed Anna by the wrist and yanked her towards him, raising his other hand high above his head. Anna watched as it descended, almost in slow motion. She didn't know what happened to the smiling father she had had before her mother died, the man who had loved her and cared for her, but the older she got, the more bruises she got, the more lies and excuses she had to make up, the more she realized that he was gone for good. Maybe it was the knowledge that freedom was within her grasp. Maybe she had reached the breaking point. Or maybe it was just the sight of the all too familiar scowl coupled with the triumphant grin on Pronyma's slutty face…but Anna decided she had had enough.

"What the—"

Anna grabbed her father's descending hand and twisted it hard, forcing it up and behind his back while jerking her captive wrist free. Grunting with the effort, she shoved hard and slammed the taller man into the wall face first while Pronyma shrieked. Pinning her father to the wall she whispered in his ear. "You will never touch me again, Kvar. You will never hear me call you father again."

Pain seared in her scalp as Pronyma grabbed her by the hair and dragged her away from Kvar. Anna grabbed Pronyma's wrist and dug her nails into the soft spot between the bones of her wrist. The older woman yelped and let go, throwing her forward into Kvar, who landed a swift punch to Anna's left eye. Anna grabbed his arm and turned into his body, flinging Kvar over her hip into the oncoming Pronyma. The two flew backwards and collided with the couch. Pronyma slumped to the ground, moaning while Kvar quickly scrambled to his feet, but Anna was quicker. Scissoring her leg up and out she slammed her foot into his knee cap, satisfied to hear bone crunch as Kvar shouted out in pain and fell to his knees. He looked up in fury at his daughter, who towered over him, brown eyes snapping with fury.

"I should tear you to pieces," Anna said through clenched teeth. "But I won't. I'm not you." She dropped to one knee and stared into Kvar's murderous eyes. "I'm leaving, Kvar. I'm leaving this place. Don't bother to look for me because you will never, ever find me." She rose and headed out the door. Before she opened it, she said over her shoulder. "May Martel forgive you for what you've done. I never will."

Anna stepped through the door and closed it locking it behind her and sealing up the past 18 years of hell forever.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"You're really going to do it?"

Kratos Aurion turned away from the window he had been staring out of and faced his best friend and sometimes adversary Yuan Ka-Fei. Yuan was unmoved by the slight frown on Kratos's face as he sat down at his desk and shuffled through some papers.

"Do what, precisely?" Kratos said finally, his voice characteristically cold and uncaring.

"Rodyle's saying that you plan on handing in your resignation," Yuan said, leaning against the doorway and brushing a speck of dust off of his black suit. His long blue hair was tied back into a ponytail and his dark suit was accentuated by a blood red shirt and white tie. With his cold demeanor and dramatic dress, he looked very much like a crime lord…which he technically was.

"You are indulging in office gossip in the hopes of finding fact?" Kratos asked. His red-brown eyes met Yuan's green eyes. He was dressed very similarly to Yuan only his shirt was dark purple and his tie black. He red brown hair stuck up at all angles, but was carefully arranged to look intimidating and professional. He looked like a lawyer to Yuan's mob boss, but that couldn't be further from the truth.

"Not hardly," Yuan said pushing away from the door frame and moving close to the desk to fix Kratos with a beady stare. "But I know you. I know how you operate. It's only a matter of time before that code of honor you hold so dear gets in the way."

"You agree with Mithos's doings?" Kratos asked pointedly.

"You know I do not," Yuan replied. "It was one thing when he was using his business influence and political influence to end the Kharlan war. At least he and Martel did that peacefully. But now…I know Martel is gone but he has taken it much too hard."

Kratos sighed. 5 years ago, Mithos and his sister Martel had used their position as diplomats to bring an end to the Kharlan war. However, those who did not want peace had sought revenge and had murdered Martel right in front of him and Yuan and Kratos. Since then the peaceful diplomatic and business ventures Mithos had normally undertaken had turned more cynical and more questionable. He used his considerable influence over the new political leaders to enact certain policies that he felt necessary, such as the iron wall between Tethe'alla and Sylvarant, and the criminal prosecution for any who practice magitechnology. And those were just his public practices. In the shadows, he was monopolizing the exsphere mining, involving himself in weapons dealing and drug dealing, and he had managed to pull all of the former crime bosses under his rule. The illegal operations financed his newest project and only Yuan and Kratos knew the true intent of this project.

"His current endeavors are both questionable and immoral," Kratos agreed. "Despite our years together, he has refused to listen to reason at this point. I have a feeling that this project of his will result in disaster."

Yuan raised his eyebrows. "Sounds to me as though you are reaching a decision. You really are going to resign, aren't you?"

Kratos met Yuan's eyes. "There is no resignation allowed. You know this."

"I do," Yuan said. They looked at each other, speaking without words. Yuan knew Kratos was going to leave. He also knew that if he did, he would be hunted to the ends of the earth. Mithos Yggdrasill would never let him go.

"Are you concerned, Yuan?" Kratos asked.

No," Yuan said evenly. "Merely curious."

Kratos sighed heavily. "Yuan, if you're only reason for being here is to ask inane questions, then please leave. I have much to do."

Yuan scoffed. "As if that would be my only purpose." He reached into the inner pocket of his suit coat and pulled out a sheath of papers. "Our fearless leader has asked me to give you this."

"An assignment?" Kratos asked, taking the papers from Yuan.

"He wants you to bring her in for testing," Yuan clarified.

Kratos looked up sharply at Yuan. "Testing? He found a subject for his experiments that quickly?"

"It seems so," Yuan said. "She apparently shares the same personality and biological profile as Martel. He wants to try it out."

"Foolishness," Kratos muttered. "who's the-?"

Kratos broke off abruptly, staring at the page in his hand. A girl stared out at him. She was young, eighteen according to the details listed below her picture. Her pale heart-shaped face hid behind a glossy curtain of chestnut hair. She was pretty. Very pretty. Kratos couldn't explain why she struck him so, but he knew it was probably her eyes. They were a dark brown color that somehow still seemed to shine. A multitude of things lay reflected in those eyes. There was life in her and determination and a fighting spirit in her direct gaze. But there were shadows too, weighing her down. He knew that look well. It stared back at him out of the mirror. How could one so young have scars so visible?

"Kratos?"

Kratos looked up at Yuan. It seemed that he had been talking to Kratos for quite some time, but Kratos hadn't heard a word. He had been so caught up in the picture that he completely ignored Yuan.

"What did you say?" Kratos asked quickly.

Yuan shot him a puzzled glance before repeating his statement. "I said Mithos wants you to bring the girl in. It shouldn't be a problem. You may find her parentage of some interest."

"Parentage?" Kratos looked down at the girl's profile. Her mother was listed first, having d some 8 years ago. The name was unfamiliar. He glanced under that at the father and received a very unpleasant surprise.

"Kvar Jamison?!" Kratos asked, horrified. "I knew he had a child but..."

Yuan nodded. "Shame too. I heard he is a bit too heavy handed with her, if you catch my drift."

Kratos's fist clenched. Kvar was a rat bastard and cruel. The thought of this or any other girl being forced to depend on him was sickening. Even more sickening was that the report on this girl, this Anna Jamison, clearly indicated Kvar's full approval for her to be used in this project.

"Who does this to their own child?" Kratos muttered.

"Bastards like Kvar," Yuan said. "In any case, Mithos wants you to retrieve her. By any means necessary. Should be easy enough."

Kratos stared at the picture once more. This girl so scarred...but so innocent. Was this what it had come to? Would he hand deliver victims to his friend and boss so that they could be harvested like cattle? Would the war they fought so hard to end be replaced with murder and power struggles? Could he be a part of that?

Could he really send this girl to her death?

Kratos met Yuan's eyes. "It will be taken care of."


	3. Faith Inside Me

Mithos Yggdrasill stared out the window, gazing down at the city below him. With his office dark except for the glow of the T.V., he had a clear view of the city. He took no pleasure in the view, such things were beneath him. His thoughts were consumed only by business. His latest plan was fool proof, he knew it. He only had to find the right subject and his sister would be back with him.

His blank face crumpled into a scowl as he thought about his sister's death and the humans who had taken her away, just because they desired peace. The rose colored glasses had been ripped away that day. Now he wouldn't rest until he had resurrected his sister and made each and every human pay. The changes had been subtle at first, starting with the travel bans between Tethe'alla and Sylvarant, and would culminate with his latest idea.

Mithos turned to examine his desk and the red orb that sat there, the very one he had used to intimidate Kvar into cooperation. To the untrained eye, it resembled an Exsphere. Exspheres were mined from the earth and attached to a special type of dwarf tech called a key crest.

However, in the underground expshere trade, a group of rogue dwarfs had found another use for these stones. When equipped to a living being with no crest, the exsphere absorbed a person's life force and became a Cruxis Crystal. From there it had to be equipped with a special piece of tech made from expensive, rare materials: a mana fragment, mana leaf herb, and zircon.

There was only one placed in the world they could be found: Derris Kharlan, the forbidden city.

And wasn't it lucky that that Mithos had it under his control?

Mithos smiled. He had plans, big plans all centered on his observations of the Cruxis Crystal in action. His sister remained cryogenically frozen, hidden in the last source of mana remaining in the world. It cost a great deal of mana to sustain her and the world was suffering mana shortages because of it. Mithos did not care. All of his research indicated that if he could find someone with similar biological and genetic indicators as his sister, he could use that person to create a Cruxis Crystal capable of restoring his sister. And thanks to Kvar of all people, he finally had one.

"Lord Yggdrasill."

Mithos sat down at his desk and pressed the intercom button on his phone to address his receptionist. "What is it Tabatha?"

His receptionist's cool, emotionless voice replied promptly, "Pronyma is on line one for you, she claims it is an emergency."

Mithos sighed. "I'll take the call." He released the intercom button and removed the phone from the receiver to immediately encounter Pronyma's shrill, panicked voice.

"My lord, she's gone!"

"What?" Mithos snapped, frustrated by this interruption. "What are you babbling about?"

"The girl," Pronyma cried. "Anna Jamison. She escaped us. I don't know how she did it but—!"

Mithos's fist clenched as Pronyma carried on about some kind of tussle she had and Kvar had ran into with the girl, followed by an explanation of how they had lost her. It seemed Kvar and Pronyma had underestimated her. The wench had gone to extreme lengths to escape her vile father and conceal her location and quite possibly her identity. Mithos would have to waste precious time and use some of his more questionable resource to track her down.

This couldn't come at a worse time.

"Silence!" Mithos barked and Pronyma quieted at once. "You and Kvar get in my office immediately. You have much to answer for." He hung up without waiting for a reply and dialed his secretary.

"Tabatha, get me Kratos. Now."

He turned to the corner of his office where the T.V. flickered. Seizing the remote, he pressed the mute button restoring the sound.

_"…and finally, it was announced today that diplomat and entrepreneur Mithos Yggdrasill will be the opposing candidate in the upcoming election…"_

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The bright lights of Palmacosta glittered on the horizon, back-dropped by the endless black mass that was the ocean. A cool sea breeze blew through the open windows as the dark pavement slipped quickly under the tires. Despite the picturesque scene surrounding her, Anna gripped the steering wheel tightly, her posture stiff as she glanced frequently into her rear view and side view mirrors. She had been driving the better part of two days, stopping at out of the way gas stations to refuel and catch cat naps in the parking lot. The victory she had felt about leaving her father bleeding on the floor gave way to panic the farther down the road she got. Having been controlled by Kvar for her entire life, she didn't trust that escaping him would be so easy. And yet, she wasn't followed. She knew the signs to look for, or at least she though she did. Her instincts were usually good and she trusted them, therefore her anxiety shouldn't be ignored.

_I just have to keep going. Get to my apartment, lock the door, get some real sleep. I mean come on, why would he follow me? It's not like he gives a d about me._

Anna willed herself to relax. She was almost to Palmacosta now. She was free.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kratos paused before the dark wooden doors, steeling himself. He knew exactly why Mithos wanted to see him: Kvar's daughter had escaped. Not only had she escaped, but she had Kvar had taken quite a bit of what he had dished out to the girl over the years. Kratos smiled at that. He had to admire someone who fought back.

Sighing, he knocked twice and the entered. Mithos looked up from the papers he was sifting through and nodded once to Kratos before looking back down.

"It seems Kvar lost the test subject," Kratos said lightly, settling into one of the leather chairs in front of the desk.

Mithos scowled. "Yes. He and Pronyma have been dealt with."

"So I am correct in assuming that you want me to find the girl," Kratos said.

"Yes," Mithos replied. "It will be harder. This couldn't come at a worse time. It will be harder to use my more…discreet resources with the candidacy having been announced."

"Congratulations," Kratos said, the hair on the back of his neck prickling. The thought of Mithos in a position of absolute power was frightening.

"You don't mean that," Mithos said. "Do not pretend. I know you."

Kratos shrugged. "Your political endeavors do not concern me. What does concern me is your latest project."

"The Angelus Project." Mithos smiled slightly. "I have to give Kvar credit for the name, even if he did let my test subject escape."

"Mithos," Kratos said, employing his old friend's first name in the hope of appealing to his more rational side. "This project…it's unwise."

"Bringing back my sister is not unwise," Mithos said with a growl.

"At the cost of innocent lives?" Kratos leaned forward. "Think of Martel, Mithos. She would hate it."

"I am thinking of Martel," Mithos shouted, jumping to his feet. "I'm the only one thinking of her apparently. You swore to help me, Kratos Aurion! Does our friendship and my sister's life mean so little to you? To you and to Yuan?!"

Kratos sighed again. They had gone in circles over this so many times with Mithos becoming more and more enraged each time. Yuan was right; Mithos was becoming more and more unhinged. Kratos knew this was wrong, but what could he do? If he left, Mithos would do even more harm. Working with his deranged friend he had more of a chance of to change things.

Didn't he?

"What would you like me to do in regards to the girl?"

Mithos grabbed a new packet and thrust it at Kratos. "Subject A012. She went to great lengths to hide her escape. No friends in luin, lies about employment, obviously took some type of f classes but gave all of her instructors different answers as to where she was going after graduation. Obviously she will be under an assumed name. Her mother left her a large inheritance which has been transferred out of the bank in Luin. We'll start there, looking for any banks that have records of a customer depositing that amount of money."

"She seems smart," Kratos said. "She may keep it as cash, or divide the sum between banks."

"She is young," Kvar said. "And Pronyma's profile of her indicates that she is indeed smart, but naïve." Kratos bit his tongue against his own disagreement. "We'll start with the more common slip ups: banks, car model, paper trails. In the meantime, I am sending you to Palmacosta first to do a visual sweep."

"You think she sought anonymity in Sylvarant's largest city," Kratos said, glancing down at his new notes. "Her academic profile indicates intelligence. Perhaps she sought the university." He stared at the picture that was now quite familiar to him. Same heart-shaped face, same captivating eyes.

"Perhaps," Mithos agreed. "You leave tonight. I have set up accommodations for you. The information is on the back of the packet." Mithos met Kratos's eyes with his cold malicious stare. "Do not fail me, Kratos. If you fail me, you fail Martel. I won't stand for that."

Kratos stood and inclined his head. "Yes, Lord Yggdrasill."

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Yuan sighed and pushed himself away from the large monitor that dominated one wall of his secret office. Having over heard the conversation between Kratos and Mithos, he grew more frustrated. Rubbing the engagement ring he now wore on his finger he digested what he had heard now and all the other times he had monitored Mithos's goings on.

However, he owed it to Martel and her memory to make sure that Mithos did not succeed in this mad quest to resurrect her and create a dictatorship run by half-elves. Martel would not want that and he swore that he would prevent it.

It seemed that this girl, Anna Jamison, was of great significance to Mithos's experiment. Yuan's immediate instinct was to dispatch the Renegades to eliminate that problem, but he hesitated. His conversation with Kratos when he handed him the assignment had given him cause to sit back and observe. He had known Kratos since they were both children. Kratos was one of few humans who did not judge Mithos, Yuan, and Martel for being half-elves and for that he had always respected Kratos and called him a friend.

Kratos reaction to this girl he was to hunt puzzled Yuan. In all their years together, he had never known Kratos to notice any girl. He was all business and of sincerity. Yet something in his face when he looked at the picture made Yuan hesitate when it came to killing the girl. It was no secret that Mithos trusted Kratos above anyone else. During their mission to negotiate peace with the warring Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, mythos had formed an alliance with Origin, the spirit that governed the world and mana. The proof of their alliance was bound using the blood of the man both Origin and Mithos trusted: Kratos. If Yuan could gain leverage over Kratos, he might be able to take Mithos down. Maybe this girl would be the key to that leverage.

Yuan shook his head. It was indeed a harsh world when you had to place your best friend's head on the chopping block.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

_Blue wings fanned out slowly. Red brown yes stared into her soul, seeking all of the emotions she worked so hard to hide. His face was a blur but she could see his wings. She could sense his sadness. She could feel his heartbeat._

The alarm rang and Anna's eyes snapped open. She growled in frustration. The angel still haunted her dreams and she still could not see his face. She didn't understand it. She was free. Why did this dream still torment her?

Anna stretched in her very comfortable bed and smiled to herself. The sun streamed in through the venetian blinds, hinting at another beautiful day. A sea breeze wafted in through the windows giving everything a tangy fresh scent. Never had the world been so bright and beautiful now that her father's taint had been stripped away.

Anna rose and prepared for the day, throwing on a white, knee length skirt with a black short-sleeved blouse and black strappy sandals. She left her long brown hair loose and put on a touch of makeup to accentuate her eyes. She grabbed her foundation and stared into the mirror, examining her face intently. Then she smiled. For the first time in 8 years, she didn't have to cake on foundation to cover up bruises or cuts. The black eye she had received from her father three weeks ago was nothing but a very faint shadow above her eyebrow. One she could ignore. She stared at the tube of powder in her hand for a moment.

"I won't be needing you anymore," she said aloud. She tossed it into the trash can and heard the satisfying clang it made as it disappeared from her life. Smiling at her reflection one last time, she seized her keys and raced out the door eager to start her day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kratos lounged casually on a bench in the shade of a palm tree near the library of Plamacosta University. To passerby, he looked like an older student or a young professor. His business suit had black boots, black jeans, and short sleeved purple polo. A briefcase with a shoulder strap rested on the bench next to his black leather jacket. The only strange thing about his appearance was the purple cloth wound around his left palm, extending up to his elbow. Fortunately, weird forms of dress were common in such a bustling city and especially on a college campus so no one took notice. Except the females. He watched uninterestedly as girl after girl walked by, giggling as the passed him suggestive looks. He treated them to a blank stare, not meeting their eyes and the eventually moved on.

Kratos sought one female and one female only and as the days went by, he was more and more convinced that she was not on the campus. He had moved around, changing his vantage points often, keeping an eye to the main buildings. Once or twice he caught a flash of brown hair, but it was never her. Now, with the first week of classes ending, he was almost convinced that she wasn't here.

He sighed. He'd have to scour the city next. That would take much longer. He'd have to call in favors, check files that he wasn't officially allowed to check, that sort of thing. Still, he would find her. He knew he could.

He must.


End file.
